Russian tennis chief Shamil Tarpischev called Ukranian star Elina Svitolina a ‘nobody’ and criticised her for asking Russian and Belarusian players to speak up against the invasion.
Svitolina has been one of the most vocal players against Russia bringing war to Ukraine.
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After Wimbledon decided to ban Russian and Belarusian players from the Championships this year, Svitolina called on her peers to denounce the war publicly.
Tarpischev career high ranking of 164. Career record of 2-3. No titles (obviously) .. @ElinaSvitolina career record of 433-228. 16 singles titles, career high of 3. I’d ask him to define “nobody” and then look in the mirror objectively https://t.co/igEzoEV9XD
— andyroddick (@andyroddick) May 13, 2022
The former world No 3 insisted that “we don’t want them banned completely” but added “if players don’t speak out then it is the right thing to ban them”.
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Tarpischev, president of the Russian Tennis Federation, hit back at her.
“No need to pay attention, this is not only my opinion, but also of lawyers,” the 74-year-old told Metaratings.ru recently.
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“If we make any statement we can be removed from some competitions.
“Now we are playing, everything is fine with us. It’s stupid to react at all. Who is Svitolina? A nobody.”
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The Russian tennis chief, meanwhile, welcomed the support of ATP stars like Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic who believe the Wimbledon ban is unfair.
“Support from the [tennis] top players is always needed,” he said.
“Players and the [Russian] federation are grateful to all of the players who have already come out in defence of our athletes who were not allowed to compete (at Wimbledon).
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“In my opinion, all the top players should support us and thus defend the competitive principle in the tennis world.”
